In computer and telecommunication systems workflow control processes are employed to control the flow of work items. A workflow is a specification of how a class of object instances (contacts), for example, insurance claims, orders for parts or service, requests for a change in status of an account, requests for transfer of funds or the like, should be handled. A special kind of workflow arises in customer care centers, in the handling of customer contacts that arrive to the customer care center (inbound contacts) or depart from a customer care center (outbound contacts); these workflows are called contact flows or contact treatments. A specific kind of contact flow involves call treatment centers in handling calls either arriving or departing from the call treatment center; i.e., call flows or call treatments.
In prior known systems, workflows (contact flows, respectively) permit the specification of alternative treatments for instances (contacts), based on their relevant properties, on external inputs associated with the instances, and the system environment (e.g., load, status of connectivity or the like). However, these known prior systems do not provide support for giving different treatments to instances (contacts) that have identical properties, identical external inputs, and that enter the system at times where the system environment is substantially the same.
A particular problem in call centers concerns switching the call handling policy from one call flow to another one. In prior known call centers this is typically accomplished only by a discreet, complete transfer from the currently deployed call flow to a new call flow. If there is a bug or inefficiency in the new call flow, then the switchover to the new call flow might cause problems that irritate many customers, or cause the system to come down.
Any such occurrences are extremely unsatisfactory from a system provider's viewpoint.
Another problem with prior systems concerns the reaction of a customer contact center to changing load and environmental conditions. Indeed, in the prior systems, changing the customer contact treatment for a given percentage of the customer contacts in response to load or condition changes had been performed entirely by manual procedures. Use of such manual procedures is inefficient.